Four London Premier League clubs face probe over abuse

Individuals at four London-based Premier League clubs are among those being investigated over historical sex abuse, Scotland Yard have revealed.

The Metropolitan Police sexual offences, exploitation and child abuse command have received 106 separate allegations so far, relating to people at 30 football clubs in London.

The force has not named the clubs involved but said four of them are currently in the top division, two are in the Championship, three are in League One and League Two and there are a further 21 non-league, non-professional or amateur teams.

Detective Chief Superintendent Ivan Balhatchet, said: "The Met take all allegations seriously, and specialist officers will work through the information passed to them.

"The number of referrals, pieces of information and allegations will change. Officers will continue to work through the information that has been reported."

Scotland Yard said its team would work with Operation Hydrant, the over-arching nationwide investigation into historical child sex abuse.

There are 13 London-based clubs in the four professional English football leagues, with five in the Premier League - Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham and Crystal Palace.

A Met spokesman declined to name any of the clubs involved.

Meanwhile, north of the border, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) has announced it is to establish an independent review into allegations of child sex abuse within the sport.

The SFA said it "has taken initial steps" towards establishing the scope of the review to see what lessons can be learnt but stressed that Police Scotland remains the main investigatory authority regarding reports of abuse in the sport.

The announcement of the review follows meetings between the SFA, police and representatives from PFA Scotland.